Cops confiscate editor's phone in MalaysiaNow probe linked to Farhash-Sabah exposé

Police today confiscated a phone belonging to MalaysiaNow's editor in what the portal's lawyer described as a baseless investigation meant to scare journalists away from their work of reporting on issues of public interest.

Abdar Rahman Koya was also questioned for the third time as police continued their probe into a report published in July on Farhash Wafa Salvador, the former PKR politician who is at the centre of a revelation surrounding approval for a mineral exploration licence in a forest reserve area in Sabah.

The investigation was sparked by a police report by Sabah Mineral Management (SMM), a state government agency chaired by Chief Minister Hajiji Noor who is currently embroiled in a mining scandal.

It comes under Section 203A of the Penal Code for "leaking confidential documents", and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act on "the improper use of network facilities and network services" – laws frequently used on the media and journalists who criticise the government.

Today's questioning at the Petaling Jaya police headquarters took about 30 minutes. Again, Abdar Rahman declined to answer any of the questions posed to him by officers from Bukit Aman.

Lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan questioned the need for police involvement, saying his client was being hounded for reporting a matter of public interest.

"It is very important to let journalists do their work," he said after police finished their questioning. "If they write something that is defamatory, sue them. Why use the police?

"This is an abuse of police powers and they are hounding my client with no basis at all. It is unacceptable."

Rajesh also said that the authorities were trying to make journalists "think twice".

"That cannot be accepted," he added. "We don't want journalists to think twice if the matter is true. Just write, let the people assess.

"But journalists are afraid to write because they get arrested, their phones are confiscated, they have to go to the station and call their lawyers.

"This is a dirty trick or technique to ensure that reporters do not write anything involving leaders linked to the government right now."

On July 21, MalaysiaNow reported that Hajiji had strongly backed Bumi Suria Sdn Bhd in its application for mineral exploration activities in Sabah.

Bumi Suria is wholly owned by Borneo Bumi Sdn Bhd, which is controlled by Farhash and another individual named Aminuddin Mustapha via 50% stakes.

SMM approved Bumi Suria's application involving 70,000 hectares of forest reserve area – three times the size of Kuala Lumpur.

SMM CEO Natasha Sim denied that any company linked to Farhash had been awarded the licence, while Farhash claimed that the report was fake news.

MalaysiaNow subsequently revealed letters, meeting minutes and excerpts from recordings of an SMM board of directors meeting chaired by Hajiji, where the application of Bumi Suria and its Indonesian joint venture partner, PT Bayan Resources, received support before being approved.

Farhash and SMM have filed defamations suits against MalaysiaNow after the portal refused to retract its reports or apologise.